Review: The final battle begins — stranger things 5 Volume 1

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SPOILERS AHEAD!

November 2025 welcomed the first volume of the highly anticipated and awaited Stranger Things 5. Nearly 10 years after its initial release, the Netflix show has gained millions of fans, so the expectations for its final season are high. I myself have grown up alongside the show, having started watching it at 12 and now being 20, and there were moments in volume 1 that had me feeling emotional and nostalgic at its ending already.

The first four episodes of season 5 have a lot to unpack. Some standouts have to be: the ending to episode 4, the Wheeler house invasion with ABBA playing in the background (the whole soundtrack is fantastic, as usual) and Robin’s speech to Will which is later utilised in a pivotal flashback sequence and turning point for Will’s character. The friendship and family dynamics have always been my favourite part of the show and they were as strong and complex as ever this season. It was interesting to see Steve and Dustin’s beloved goofy dynamic turn serious, as Dustin struggles with grief and pushes a frustrated Steve away – a different but realistic side to their brotherhood. Robin and Will’s new friendship is so sweet and an important queer representation, especially for a show set in the 80s. I have always been soft for Hopper and El’s father-daughter duo; this season they felt particularly reminiscent of  The Last of Us’ Joel and Ellie, who they are based off of, but have a much sadder ending than I pray these two will. Mike and Lucas were two standouts for me this season, their joking around reminding us they are just teenage boys. This is juxtaposed though by the way they step up to protect the kids targeted by Vecna, mirroring the way the older kids protected them in the past – the babies have become the babysitters.

Some plotlines, though, have been exhausted – like the love triangle between Nancy, Jonathan and Steve, which is becoming an insult to their characters. Max being stuck in memories and the different timelines seems overly complicated, but worth it if she wakes up from her coma. There’s been no main cast casualties yet, but the next episode titled ‘Shock Jock’ and the song ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ being queued on the soundtrack has me worried for Rockin’ Robin.

The last 20 minutes of ‘Sorcerer’ had me literally and figuratively on the edge of my seat. The intensity and rapid violence of the Demogorgons was exacerbated by the moving camera angles. The Duffer brothers have confirmed Vecna’s entrance was inspired by Darth Vader’s in Rouge One – arguably one of  the greatest entrance scenes in cinema. Vecna looked ten times more terrifying and powerful than season 4. As an avid season 2 enthusiast, the amount of references to it was exciting – accumulated by Kali’s return and Will finally harnessing power from his trauma in an epic conclusion that leaves us counting down to the next installment.

Edited by Daisy Coombs